


Bonds to be Reforged

by orphan_account



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon, Gen, Platonic Ansem, Platonic Ansem/Braig/Dilan/Even/Aeleus/Ienzo, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-11
Updated: 2013-09-11
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:05:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/963567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been so long since he had even seen them, so long since he had trusted them. And yet...these memories keep rising to the surface.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonds to be Reforged

**A/N: There aren’t nearly enough fics about Ansem and the apprentices, the least I can do is try and remedy that.**

**SPOILERS FOR: _Birth by Sleep_ , and the entire premise is one for _Dream Drop Distance_.**

_XxXxXxXxXx_

Ansem gazes out over what used to be, so many years ago, the place he called home. This magnificent garden that has seen the rise and  so many, the _destruction_ of so many. Part of him was lost in the Darkness, and regaining it has been the most difficult thing he has ever done.

Even now, he is not comfortable with them the way he once was. He cannot _truly_ trust them, not yet. There is even, in a part of his heart he has tried hard to bury, a sliver of him that _never_ wants to trust them again. A part of him that never wants to ever have to put such faith in a group of decaying people who have never understood that there is a difference between _intelligence_ and _wisdom._

He can clearly remember all of them, each once trying to prove themselves against whatever force stood in their way. Yes, there _was_ a time before, wasn’t there?

He knows there was.

XxXxXxXxXx

Braig was the first, becoming an apprentice alongside Even, a friend he had known all of his life.

The two were always just one misinterpreted comment away from a fight, and Ansem had foud them squabbling like children on more than one ocasion.

_“C’mon, man, it’s not like it'll hurt anything..."_

_“The master said that—”_

_“So what? He’ll never know." Braig paused, eying Even cautiously. "Unless you're plannin' on telling him, that is."_  
  
 _“Why would I want to do that?"_

_"ust to make another of my plans blow up in my face," Braig said, adding in a thoughtful murmur, "You're real good at that, actually."  
_  
 _“I’ve never, not even_ once _, messed up any of your immature plans!”Even protested._

_“If my plans are soimmature, then why d’you go along with them?!”_

It was almost unbelievable how eager they were just toirritate each other, and yet how quickly they came together if the situationcalled for action.

 _“How did it get in thecastle?!”_ _“I don’t know! Oneminute, me ‘n Aeleus are out in front of the gates, and the next—”_

 _“It’s not important,”Even cut him off. “_ Where is it _?”_

_“I told you:  Out in front of the gates!”_

_They were off andrunning before Ansem even knew about an attack from the Unversed._

Their friendship was an odd one, to say the least, yet stillremained durable even after Dilan and Aeleus arrived. Despite all evidence ofthe two growing apart, they still held fast to the bond when it was called for.

  _“Master Ansem’s gonnabe_ ticked _…”_ _Even glanced up infaint surprise. “Braig? Did you just use an honorific_ genuinely _? Are you ill?”_

_Braig perked upconsiderably after spotting Even, a wide grin spreading across his face as ifon command. “Hey! Think you could give me a hand? I’ve gotta hide some…well,bodies, I guess you’d call ‘em.”_

_Thankfully, the ‘bodies’were only the crushed remains of a still-underway experiment regarding sentientplants. How exactly Braig managed to shred, crush, and burn through the centerof one of the more valuable specimens during the course of one trial was neverexplained._

XxXxXxXxXx

Dilan, a bit younger than both Braig and Even, became an apprenticenearly three years after the original two, but showed no less potential than  
his ‘superiors’.

  _“Are you sure aboutthis, Braig?” Dilan asked, watching as the other man offered another tablescrap to the dog. “At this rate, it may follow us back.”_ _“Aw, lighten up.Snowball’d never get me in trouble with Ansem,” Braig waved him off, jerkinghis hand back as the dog tried to find more food on him. “_ Hey _—that’s a_ bad _boy, we don’t try to bite Uncle Braig.”_

_Dilan looked mildlydisturbed. “Why in the world would you name that creature ‘Snowball’?”_

_“He’s_ obviously _a leader, born and bred. Why else would Iname him that?”_

_Dilan just let it be,deciding it wasn’t worth the headache._

Ansem knew he was more than capable of matching up to hiscolleagues; it wasn’t even a question.

_“This is just…bizarre,even for Even.”_

_“What is he trying toaccomplish?”_

_Braig tilted his headto the side a little, trying to get better look at what Even was attaching tothe side of his window. “…The heck ‘re those?”_

_“Maybe we should helphim; he might—” Dilan broke off, not entirely sure_ how _to respond now. “Why does he have a bird?”_

_“I think that’s theone Ansem has in the lab.”_

_“But, why would he—”Dilan started._ _Sometimes you’rebetter off not knowing._ _”_

_“Who are you and what have you done with Braig?”_

 

XxXxXxXxXx

Aeleus, now, was a rather imposing individual at firstglance, and as a result, Even had taken his time learning to respect the newcomer—not that he had acted any different to Dilan, really.

While Aeleus appeared to prioritize brawn over brain, he was quickly revealed to be very thoughtful, arguing only if he had a point worth proving, not just for the sake of fighting. It was a rather refreshing relief, as all of the other apprentices were hot-tempered to some variety or another, to have someone truly levelheaded.

That is, he was most of the time.

  _“No.”_ _"Really! I promise you.”_

_“Braig—”_

_“_ Aeleus _.”_ _“You expect me to believe that Even_ completely destroyed _my research in a ‘freak snowball accident’?” Aeleus asked skeptically._

_There was only the faintest hesitance in Braig’s answer. “Yep. One minute he’s walking along, goin’ about his business, the next he’s getting pelted with flying snow from eachside. Turns out paper doesn’t do so well with water, especially once it melts.”_

_“And, to prove this, you attacked Even.”_

_“…I’m a hands on learner.”_

_Braig didn’t miss the light smirk Aeleus gave him as he said, “Then why don’t we try some practical application?”_

It took _ages_ for the bruise on Braig’s face to heal, and ‘practical application’ was nearly always accompanied by three pairs of eyes glancing to Braig and a comment or two, which were then replied to with threats. Sometime later, with the addition of a fifth researcher, it usually warranted a confused look at why everyone else seemed to find that phrase so amusing, and why it seemed to get under Braig’s skin the way it did.

With said addition, groups were shifted again, throwing them into a bit of disarray until they adjusted once more, though it was mid-winter  
by the time it had all been sorted out.

_It was freezing in the castle, as if someone had turned down a thermostat twenty-degrees or so overnight. The only ones up by the time Aeleus awoke were Braig, who was muttering in irritation at the fireplace, and Ienzo, who was staring out the window at something unseen._

_Aeleus shivered, goingover to Braig to join in his noble quest to provide warmth. He laid a hand on the other man’s shoulder, causing Braig to jump and hit his head against the top of the fireplace. Ienzo glanced over at the noise, raising an eyebrow at Aeleus. The man just shook his head in reply, listening to Braig mutter darkly under his breath._ _Ienzo merely shrugged, glancing at the –unfortunately still lacking in an actual fire –fireplace for a second before turning back to the window._

_“You might watch your head next time,” Aeleus advised, chuckling a bit at the look Braig responded with._

_“You scared out of my_ skin _,” he defended. “The heck d’you expect me to do?”_

_“Respond with actual maturity?” Ienzo suggested absently._

_“Shut up, you.”_

Aeleus had responded fairly well towards the sixth apprentice as well, which Ansem was particularly grateful for since the rest of the reactions were very…distrustful.

XxXxXxXxXx

Ienzo originally came into his care with a disposition that reminded Ansem of a blank canvas, so _empty_ and pale, desperately searching for something resembling color. And yet, as much as Ansem tried to paint, he found that the surface was too rocky, that the edges were too sharp and too sudden, that the child had _already_ been painted upon. What remained of the color was faint, almost invisible, but it was remarkably clear that there was nothing to be done in regards to starting over. It simply wasn’t _possible_. Ansem was forced to begrudgingly accept that the story that caretaker had told him simply wasn’t true, that it had all been fabricated in the hopes that he would act appropriately. And then he started _talking_. Once Ienzo was actually willing to speak to him—or anyone at all, really – it was obvious just _how_ advanced the boy truly was. His comprehension was fascinating, and Ansem had proceeded to launch question after question until the boy retreated back into his shell, silent once more. This time, however, he simply went about showing Ienzo what exactly he had entered into. In those several weeks of one-sided conversation and instruction, Ansem had received many odd looks from his apprentices, though they never questioned who this boy was or why Ansem had taken such a liking to him.

It wasn’t until he informed the young men of what was to occur that he finally met opposition.

  _“But master,” Even protested.“You can’t possibly be serious! He’s a_ child _; what business could he possibly have here?_

_“I assure you that Ienzo is fully capable of—”_

_“Has he even begun his schooling yet?” Even demanded. “The boy hardly looks old enough to have received any form of basic education, let alone work among_ scientists _!”_

 _“Even—”_ _“I think I’m with Even on this one, Prof,” Braig spoke up from the couch, having been watching the conversation with a disinterested expression up until that point. “Kid doesn’t belong among a bunch ‘_ highly qualified _’ adults who’ve been doin’ this longer than he’s even been_ alive _.”_

 _“I’m sure the otherswill agree,” Even went on. “Why would we even_ want _to bother with bringing him up to speed on our projects? He’s only going to slow us down.”_

_“Then you’ll be happy to know I’ve already taken care of that.”_

_The stares that his two eldest apprentices gave him were priceless._

_“You—You’re serious,” Even mumbled. “You’re honestly, truly_ serious _about taking him on as an apprentice.”_

_“This is gonna go all kinds of bad places,” Braig warned. “No way it’ll end well.”_

_“I’ve taken care of it,” Ansem assured them._

_“Then how come I don’t believe you?”_

While it had been a terribly long argument to even get some form of consent from Even and Braig, let alone Aeleus and Dilan—though, honestly, he didn’t need to get it in the first place – it was even worse when Ienzo actually became an apprentice.

_“Master, with all due respect, are you…certain that this is a wise decision?” Even Aeleus sounded skeptical, and he had hardly even debated the subject the previous week._

_“Does the kid even talk?” Braig wondered, watching Ienzo._

_“_ I _certainly haven’t heard him,” Even muttered._

_“I still don’t understand what a child has to contribute,” Dilan added._

_Ienzo fidgeted a bit, edging closer to Ansem in a search for some sort of defense._

_Rather unfortunately, even this slight movement didn’t go unnoticed by Even._

_“You see! He’s just a frightened child! Isn’t taking the boy in enough for your_ ever so caring _heart to offer?” There was more than just a trace of sarcasm in Even’s words, his accusation practically_ dripping _with it._

_As Ansem was about to respond, Ienzo simply spoke up in a quiet voice, “Ansem tells me that you all have been researching the heart. Perhaps you could enlighten me on some of the specifics?”_

Even had immediately claimed that it had been staged in a flat out _idiotic_ attempt at gaining the approval of the young men. Braig seemed to agree. It wasn’t for several more weeks that they all seemed to see the boy as their equal, and it was even _longer_ before Ienzo would act around them the way he would around Ansem.

_“All right, kiddo; you see this snowball?” Braig held one up in a gloved hand, keeping it eyelevel with Ienzo. “Ten munny says you can’t hit ol’ Even from here.”_

_Ienzo eyed the snowball skeptically, but eventually grabbed it from the man and took aim._

_He hadn’t managed to hit Even, and was ten munny shorter that he had been earlier, but_ Dilan _certainly wasn’t pleased._

 _“This, my little friend, is what we call a hit-and-_ run _.”_

_That night, after realizing that he must have dropped his scarf while fleeing from Dilan, Ienzo ventured out into the yard. He had not, for a wonder, thought to dress appropriately, and was only reminded of this fact by Even calling after him in angry concern._

_“Get in here, boy; you’ll catch your death out there!”_

_Ienzo paid the man little attention, digging through the snow after seeing something gleam faintly in the moonlight. Even had eventually stalked out after the boy, all but dragging him back inside the castle after Ienzo dug up the wristwatch Dilan had lost the previous day._

 

It had been a long, hard road to even get to that point, but there was another that was far too close in the future.

 

_Ienzo had been with them for little more than two years, but he approached Ansem without even the slightest hesitance._

_“Master, we were thinking that it might be beneficial to have another lab,” Ienzo spoke. “Only in the interest of research, of course.”_

_Ansem looked at his youngest apprentice closely. There was something_ off _about the way he carried himself these days, about the way he spoke down to the others at even the slightest provocation, about the gleam in his eyes._

_“Only in the interest of research,” Ansem repeated, raising an eyebrow in question._

_“Naturally. We simply believe that it might be in our best interest to move our operations to a less widely known area. A secret lab, if you will.”_

_He hadn’t known what to say. He_ supposed _Ienzo was right; the majority of their findings were inconclusive, after all. In the end, Ansem had approved it, quite convinced that he had made the right decision after all._

XxXxXxXxXx

Xehanort, his name was. Of all of the apprentices, that man truly rang out the most clearly in Ansem’s mind. When Braig had first brought him in, an amnesiac in need of care, he had _seemed_ normal. And yet, it became alarmingly apparent that—

_=-=-=-=-=-_

_“He’s gone,” a voice whispered breathlessly. “Where—What did we do to him?”_

_“Is it not obvious?” Xehanort answered in a cool tone. “We have banished him to the Realm of Darkness. I would hope that someone of your supposed capabilities would be more than able to understand such a thing. Perhaps I was wrong.”_

_“That’s ridiculous,”_  
the voice argued back immediately. “Where could you possible get that idea  
from?”

_“Oh, you see—_

=-=-=-=-=-

In spite of everything, in spite of the Darkness and its terrible effects, these people were once his family. And if he does want to erase it all, even for a moment, it is far too late.

He steps out, gazing about the room as a startled voice—one he remembers well –comes from behind him.

“ _Master?_ ”

_XxXxXxXxXx_

**A/N: For the record, the random cut-offs for the third-and-second to last scenes were on purpose. I apologize for excessive Ienzo.  -.-  My bad on that. Oh, and the entirety of the present-time events in this story take place around a month or so after my headcanon KH III.**


End file.
